kobo

Kobo is not a name that you hear a lot in the tablet space, but it does make them. Kobo's pitch is directed at heavy readers, but the Arc 10HD is packing some serious gaming muscle behind its bookish exterior. For a limited time, you can have this device for $299.99, which is $100 cheaper than usual.

The Kobo Arc 10HD has a Tegra 4 ARM chip, 2GB of RAM, a 10-inch 2560x1600 LCD, and 16GB of storage.

Nearly all the attention for reader-tablet hybrids goes to Amazon and Barnes & Noble, but today the Toronto-based Kobo is making a compelling case for their share of the market. The company announced three new tablets: the Arc 7, Arc 7HD, and Arc 10HD, set for release on October 16th. The three models are roughly analogous to the latest Kindle Fire, Fire HD, and Fire HD 8.9, but they've got two distinct advantages: they run Android 4.2.2, and they've got access to the Google Play Store.

It sure seems that way, according to Android Guys. They claim competing eBook apps such as Kobo and Aldiko don't appear in search results when using the Amazon Appstore on a Kindle Fire tablet. Additionally, eBook reader developer BlueFire claims that while his app is listed as Kindle Fire-compatible on the Amazon Appstore, it too fails to show up in search results on the device.

We've not heard of many apps mysteriously not showing up in the Fire's app list (presumably Amazon had lots of time to work on ensuring most apps on its store would be compatible) for a lack of compatibility, so if this does turn out to be true, we can probably assume that Amazon made a conscious decision to keep competitors' apps out of the hands of users.

I'm no huge fan of UI overlays, but even I have to admit that HTC's Sense is getting better and better. With features like HTCSense.com and even an e-books store, there's no arguing that it's become more than just an Android skin - in Europe, at least.

It looks like the US is finally on the agenda for the new Sense. According to Drew Bamford, HTC's head of User Experience, the company will be rolling out a new version of the UI next year, which, among other things, will bring us Americans the features Desire HD and Desire Z owners have been enjoying for a while now.

This morning, Borders’ website was updated with new instructions for obtaining the Borders eBooks reader app for Android, in conjunction with its launch of the Borders eBooks store.

The app (as stated above) will only work on Android 2.0+ devices. Once you create a Borders eBooks account (which can be done entirely through the app), you can purchase eBooks in-app (uh-oh Kindle for Android) and read them straight away! We’ve provided a couple of screens below.